It's Only Forever
by artemis floyd
Summary: Ten years later: Sarah can't move on with her life and is stuck in a rut. Jareth returns, and Sarah faces the decision of leaving her dismal existence in the real world to return to the labyrinth...for a price. Full summary inside. M rating just in cas
1. Within You

It's Only Forever

Summary: Ten years later, Sarah is still unable to truly go on with her life after her encounter with Jareth, and ever since, she's felt out of place in the real world and longs for the surreal realm the Labyrinth offered. When Jareth returns, Sarah faces a decision: stay in her world and be miserable, or go back to the Labyrinth she loves…for a price.

_A/N: So, this is my first straight-up Labyrinth fic (woo hoo!). This is one of those stories where I'm not sure where it's going yet, so we shall see. I like the concept and I'm pretty sure it's been done before, but hopefully all of you will enjoy the ride nonetheless. _

_FYI: I'm notorious for being a little…slow…about updating, so pirates, ye be warned._

**Within You**

Sarah slammed down the massive stack of papers she had been carrying onto her desk at the law firm she was interning at. Why she'd decided to become a lawyer was absolutely beyond her; she didn't even like the job. Perhaps it was the allure of the money, but Sarah knew otherwise: it was as real as reality got, and as far from the dreamlike world of Jareth as she could get.

Sarah had been trying for the past ten years to get Jareth and his labyrinth out of her head, but it had proved to be impossible. In high school, she had been known as the crazy girl with her head in the clouds, and had few friends. College had been slightly better, as abnormality was to be expected (everyone just assumed she did a _lot _of drugs), but she still felt like she was pretending to be someone she was not, and longed for the freedom to be herself without the everyone else looking at her like she was running down the street naked. She shook her head in annoyance looking at her huge stack of work to finish, a couple pieces of her dark hair falling out of the neat bun she had taken to putting it in. She missed wearing it down, but not only did it remind her of her labyrinth experience, men at work were prone to try to touch it.

Sarah had grown up a great deal physically since her jaunt with Jareth. Her chest had gotten a fair deal bigger, her legs more shapely, her waist smaller. With her dark hair and green eyes in addition to an excellent body (as she had taken up swimming and it had done her quite well), guys were constantly hitting on her at work, thinking of her as the quiet, innocent type that they would just _love _to corrupt…especially her boss, Charles Mercer Von Reinier. He would incessantly ask her out for drinks after work, which Sarah translated as his attempt to liquor her up and have his way with her, a prospect that made her shudder. He was a known womanizer, and had slept his way through the majority of the female population of the office, attracting them with his sickeningly sweet charm and unbelievable amount of money. Charles was one of the foulest men Sarah had ever met, and did her best to steer clear of him, yet her attempts seemed to be in vain, however, as he always managed to find her.

As she sat down at her desk to begin working on the monster amount of paperwork she had to do (none of which being real cases, of course; the male interns handled those and Sarah got to clean up after them), the relentless Charles sauntered over to her cubicle, casually leaning up against its thin walls. Sarah pretended not to notice him as he gave her his usual appraising look, as if he was sizing up a steak at the grocery store and she picked up a pen and began to write furiously, dotting her I's and making periods with a ferocious stabbing motion, subconsciously thinking of the paper as Charles' face.

"Hello, Sarah," he said in his overly honeyed voice that disgusted her. "Work going well?" She glared at the paper, attempting to glare a hole through it as he continued: "I'm glad to see you're being the busy little bee I hired you for. Anyway," he said as Sarah felt her eye muscle twitch, "I'm going over to the bar after work today, and I'd like you to come with me. You know, discuss lawyer things…your career…us…" he winked at her and started to walk away. "See you at 6:30, then!" he called over his shoulder cheerfully as he made his way through the cubicles.

Sarah felt something inside her snap, and before she knew it, she had shot out of her chair, stalking after the vile man. She grabbed his arm, whirling him around, and said in a deadly low voice, "No, you _won't _see me at 6:30. There is no possible way I'd be seen in public with you, you slime." He laughed uneasily, as people had started looking at the pair, and said, "Funny joke, Sarah. You know, I—", but Sarah cut him off. "Oh, you think I'm kidding?" she demanded, her voice rising. "I will _never _allow myself to become your arm candy, a convenient accessory for you to use at will to look good in public. Who do you think you are?!" At this point, Sarah was screaming in her boss' face, not caring that the majority of the office had stood up to see the young intern shouting at her boss. "You disgust me, the way you treat the women in this office!" Before she could even realize what she had done, she spit in his shocked face. She whirled around, and stormed back to her desk, gathering her papers. She strode past him and out the office doors, seething with anger.

As Sarah began walking down the streets of Chicago outside her office towards her apartment, she realized what exactly she had done. 'Oh my god…' she thought, knowing that she was inevitably going to lose her internship and any possibility of a job in the future due to her behavior. She walked on in misery, trying to figure out what she could do to pay next month's rent. "How could this day get any worse?" she asked herself out loud as she turned down the alley she took as a shortcut to her apartment, when a voice behind her spoke, echoing off the walls: "Oh, it's about to get much worse, dear Sarah."

TBC.

_-cue ominous music- So the last line of this is for sure cheesy, but hey, fanfiction has a tendency to be cheesy in itself. Anyway, more chapters to come, and reviews are appreciated as always, but never mandatory. I **hate **it when authors are like, "I won't upload a new chapter until I get x amount of reviews lolzzzz!" God is that annoying. Anyway…D_


	2. Your Eyes Can be so Cruel

_A/N: I seem to have been hit with a whirlwind of inspiration, so I'm uploading TWO WHOLE CHAPTERS (!!!!!!) today. I have some sort of idea where this fic is going, but I'm still not sure about the details along the way. We shall see…_

**Your Eyes Can be so Cruel**

"_Oh, it's about to get much worse, dear Sarah."_

Sarah felt her blood run cold as she heard those words, freezing dead in her tracks. She heard steps approaching behind her, and she stood rooted to the spot as they came closer. She slowly turned her head, afraid of what she would see. Sarah finally drew the courage to turn her body all the way around, and was standing face to face with none other than Charles Mercer Von Reinier. He smirked at her, his eyes blazing. "W-what do you want, Charles?" Sarah asked him, her voice shaking a little. He continued to smirk at her and took a step towards her, his eyes never leaving hers. She backed away, unsure of whether or not she should run, and if it would worsen the situation.

He kept on approaching her and suddenly grabbed her wrist, his grip vice-like. The smirk left his face and was replaced with a look of pure hatred, and when he spoke, his words dripped venom: "I'm sure you know why I'm here, Sarah." She stared at him, speechless. "Nobody makes a fool of me, you see. Nobody. I'm Charles Mercer Von Reinier, son of Charles Gabriel Von Reinier, owner of the Chicago branch of the Mercer law firm. I'm a powerful man who simply can _not_ be made a fool of. And you did. Today, you made a fool of me in front of the entire office, and that's just unacceptable." He pushed her against the brick wall of the alley, his face inches away from hers. "You're going to pay for this, Sarah. I'm not talking about your job, either," he whispered into her ear as he pinned her wrists above her head with one hand, the other hand making a trail down her neck to her collar bone.

"No!" Sarah screamed as his hand made its way to her breast. "Now Sarah, if you make any noise, I'm going to have to kill you." She gasped, realizing there were next to no means of escape. She started to cry as she struggled against his wrists, twisting her body to try to get leverage, but to no avail: he just pushed her wrists harder into the wall and they started to bleed, getting scratched by the brick.

Sarah started to give up fighting as Charles' found the zipper of her dress pants, knowing it was hopeless to fight when suddenly, a white owl flew into the alley and began pecking at Charles' face and eyes. He let go of Sarah's hands as he tried to hit the bird, giving her an open shot. She kicked him as hard as she could in the groin, and as he doubled over, she grabbed him by the hair on the back of his head and forced a collision between his face and her knee. She kicked him over onto the ground and started running as fast as she could towards the other end of the alley, not looking behind her to see that the owl was still attacking Charles as he lay on the ground moaning.

Sarah finally reached her apartment, frantically pushing the call button for the elevator. After waiting for five seconds, she felt that she had been there too long and took off up the stairs, with the attendant at the front desk staring after her. After sprinting up twelve flights, she tore into her apartment, double locked the door and threw the dead bolt, then grabbed a chair and propped it under the doorknob. She braced her back against the wall to catch her breath, then slid to the ground and began to weep.

She cried for about half an hour, then dragged herself across the apartment to call the police about the attack. The police sent over a female detective named Mira who asked Sarah seemingly endless questions about Charles, and a medic to fix up her wrist. Before leaving, Mira took pity on Sarah and made her some coffee in the kitchen and asked her if she wanted to stay overnight in the hospital. Sarah thanked her and declined the offer, saying that all she wanted was to sleep it off. The officer nodded, understanding, bid Sarah goodnight, and left.

Sarah flopped down on her bed, too exhausted to change out of her clothes from work. The last thing she remembered saying before falling asleep was, "I wish the goblins would take _me _away, right now…"

_A/N: Yeah, I know this chapter was short and the action a little hurried, but I want to get on to the next chapter! I may go back and flesh this out a bit later, but right now, I think the world can handle a little lack of detail. Woot for the creative juices flowing!_


	3. You Remind Me of the Babe

_A/N: Wow, three chapters in one day. This is intense business. Maybe it's the coffee._

_I know they haven't been very long, and I'm sorry for that. I've been writing so much today (writing 3 fics at one time is an interesting undertaking, let me tell you) that everything is getting shorter and shorter, so my apologies to the adoring public! Ha…_

**You Remind Me of the Babe**

Sarah woke up to find her whole body hurting as if she'd been thrown against a brick wall the night before…then she remembered that she had been. She cringed as she tried to move, her whole existence screaming in protest, shooting daggers of white hot pain through all of her limbs. She groaned as she finally managed to roll over, her head pounding as she stared at her ceiling fan. Sarah forced herself into a sitting position, feeling the room spin around her, then she felt it: something in her room was different. She couldn't figure out what, but she had that sense that something had been changed while she slept. 'This is awful,' she thought to herself as she dragged herself out of her bed and into the bathroom connected to her bedroom.

Sarah saw herself in the mirror, and nearly shrieked at her reflection. Her hair had fallen out of its bun and was matted around her face in bunches, her skin had turned a sickly paste color, and her eyes were festooned with dark circles that could rival any raccoon in her garbage cans outside. Her makeup had run down her face in black rivers that she had never bothered to wipe off, and her hands looked like she had stuck them in a food processor. She rested her forehead against the mirror, sighing. "Sarah, you're a mess," she informed her reflection. "I think it's time for a shower."

She undressed and stepped into a scalding hot shower, washing the grime and, to her horror, blood out of her hair that had been from when her head hit the brick wall. She scrubbed her arms and legs until they were nearly raw, feeling as if she could somehow scrub away the memories of the night before. After her cleansing ritual, she merely stood under the spray, letting it hit her shoulders and work out some of the built-up tension. Sarah stepped out, grabbing her bathrobe, and headed to the kitchen for some breakfast. She felt ridiculous making pancakes after what happened the night before, knowing that things could never go back to how they were before, but she wanted to feel like she had some semblance of normalcy back in her life.

Sarah sat on the couch in the living room with her breakfast and turned on the TV, flipping aimlessly through the channels to try and occupy her mind. She stopped on Lifetime to watch some cheesy movie about a woman whose sister tries to kill her for her husband or some ridiculous crap like that when she heard a crashing noise come from her bedroom. "Can't I just live a normal life?" she murmured to herself as she grabbed the cordless phone and a knife from the kitchen and headed towards the room. Peering in, she saw nothing amiss and turned around to go back into the living room, thinking that she was starting to hear things, when she felt a hand grasp her shoulder.

She stifled a scream and clutched the knife in her hands, thinking that Charles had found some way into her apartment to finish what he had started the night before. She whirled around, ready to strike, when she found herself face to face with none other than the Goblin King himself. "In response to your question, no, you cannot live a normal life, Sarah. Not after me," he added with a sly smile. "Jareth…" she breathed, before tumbling to the ground, unconscious.

When Sarah awoke, she was back in her bed. 'Oh God,' she thought, 'I've started hallucinating about…_him_. I must be going mental.' She sat up, looking around. "That must have been a dream," she said aloud, feeling that if she stated it, it must be true. She smiled to herself, convinced, until Jareth stepped out from her bathroom wearing nothing but a towel. "Hello, Sarah," he said as her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. 'Okay, so I hit my head much harder than I thought yesterday,' her mind told her, trying to rationalize the mostly naked goblin king in her bedroom. She squeaked a couple times in an attempt to speak, then finally managed a feeble "No". He looked at her, slightly puzzled. "No what?" he asked her. "No, you're not here. This isn't happening. I hit my head so hard that I'm hallucinating right now, and you're a figment of my imagination." Jareth stared at her for a second, then burst out laughing. "Oh Sarah…you've grown up so much, yet you never cease to make me laugh."

Jareth walked over to Sarah's bed and sat down opposite her, still clad in a towel. Noticing her staring, he realized his state of undress and grinned almost sheepishly. "I see you've noticed my attire and are probably wondering what I was doing in your shower." She just stared at him, unable to find words to describe the surreal image in front of her. He continued: "Well, I was quite tired from a long day of watching over you, so I took the liberty of showering while you were unconscious." Sarah continued to stare at him, having nothing to say. "You see, I haven't quite left you alone since we last parted. Every once in a while, I drop in to see how you're doing. You don't see me, of course, but I think you sometimes pick up on it. Anyway, yesterday I was in the neighborhood, so to speak, and I saw your eruption at that foul man that people refer to as Charles. I hung outside the office to watch his reaction as you stormed out, and I didn't notice him go out the back until I heard you scream. I turned into my owl form as not to elicit suspicion, and I saw him…" Jareth trailed off and turned his head away from Sarah, his fists clenched. She snuck a peek at his face and saw his jaw set and his eyes burning, which surprised her. "Well, regardless, I attacked him when I saw where it was going, though you did quite the number on him yourself. His nose and cheekbones are broken, for your information, and they had to perform surgery on his testicles to retrieve them." Jareth smiled at her, as if he was proud of her while she gasped, trying to absorb all of the information that he had just unloaded on her.

She scooted away from him suddenly, jumping off the bed. "You've been stalking me?!" she cried.

"Now, I wouldn't call it stalking—"

"Then what would you call it?"

"Watching over you," he replied smoothly.

"So why did you reveal yourself to me now?" she demanded, her hands on her hips, her eyes defiant. He gazed at her before he responded, drinking in how beautiful she was when she was angry.

"Because I'm here to take you back with me," he stated simply.

"WHAT?!" Sarah exploded. "You think you can stalk me all over the place for ten years then suddenly pop into my apartment and drag me back to that damned labyrinth of yours because you feel like it? Oh, I don't think so. Goblin King or not, I already told you: you have no power over me." He watched seethe with his arms crossed over his chest, an expression of amusement playing over his features. "Now Sarah, that's not true. I'm not taking you back because I _feel_ like it. I'm taking you back because you asked me to."

Sarah froze, staring at him in horror, realizing he was right. The night before, she asked the goblins to take her away out of sheer misery, not thinking that it would actually come true. She tried to form words, but they died away at her lips; all she could do is gawk at him. He looked at her with pity. "Sarah, I won't take you by force. It's your choice if you want to go." She looked relieved. "However, think over your options carefully," he continued. "Do you really want to go back to your wretched life here? You're not going to get your internship back, you're going to have no job or chance of recommendations, and everyone is still going to think you the strange girl who never talks...except now, you're going to be the unstable quiet girl known for occasional fits of rage." Sarah cringed, thinking of what her more-than-likely former coworkers thought of her after her outburst. "Wouldn't you rather go back to somewhere that you fit in? Where you can be yourself? Where you have friends?" He paused. "Consider your options, Sarah. However, I'll leave you with one catch. If you come with me, it's permanent. You can never come back to the world you know here. I'm giving you thirteen hours to think it over, and I'll be back for your decision." Jareth turned to leave, paused, and said: "You know, you remind me of the babe."

She stared at him, confused. "What babe?"

For a moment he gazed into nothing, and he then snapped back into reality, though a wistful note came into his voice. "The babe I was in love with." With that, Sarah was once again alone in her room with only her thoughts and one very large decision to make.

_Well, this one's a bit longer than the first two, and I hope that suits everyone fine. I think I'm gonna start four tonight, too…hey, I figure I'm on a roll here, might as well keep it going._


	4. Ain't Got No Suitcase

_A/N: Thanks so much for all the wonderful reviews! I have to agree that my chapters seem rushed, but that's probably because I wrote all three of those chapters in one day because I had so many ideas that I wanted to get down before I forgot them. I know: excuses, excuses. Regardless, I really appreciate all the great stuff everyone had to say, and once this fic is done, I'm going to go back and probably end up rewriting most of the beginning to flesh it out a bit more. So, on with the show!_

_P.S. Second semester is kinda kicking my ass right now, so I'm really, really, really sorry for the lack of updates! I'm currently on spring break (yeah, latest spring break ever…), so hopefully I can get my updating on. Also, I seem to have this habit of starting stories, not finishing them, then starting other ones, so I have about 7109829379689239 unfinished fics. So, to the people actually reading this, I'm sorry!_

_Note: Sarah's apartment building is on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. As you can probably tell, I'm from near Chicago, hence all the Chicago-y terms, locations, etc. If you're not familiar with them, my apologies! If you want to know more or understand something, you can find information at: _ Got No Suitcase

Sarah had been sitting on her bed for about two hours, pondering over her decision, still remaining undecided, when she decided to take a walk and get some fresh air to clear her mind a bit. Simply walking around Chicago usually cheered her, seeing the variety of people passing her, the comfort of the tall buildings enclosing the streets, the joy of the whipping wind off Lake Michigan twirling her hair about. She grabbed her coat off the back of a kitchen chair, which she did not remember putting there, and walked out the door, closing it behind her and sighing. 'So much is going on right now…I can hardly think straight,' she thought to herself as she pushed the call button for the elevator. She stepped in and leaned against the wall, her eyes fixed on the mirrored ceiling above her. Her reflection emulated her mood exactly: confused, exhausted, and just a bit frustrated.

Stepping out the front door of the apartment complex, Sarah took a deep breath of the crisp, wintry Chicago air in mid-afternoon, a slight breeze blowing off the lake that stirred up her hair as she walked. She took in the familiar sights around her: the bustle of Michigan Avenue, taxis darting through the streets completely disregarding the pedestrians and the pedestrians disregarding all of the traffic in general; the gleaming metal structures of Millennium Park, with sun dancing on the bean and reflecting off the twisting metal structures of the band shell, the faces of the tower pillars smiling and blinking at her as she passed by; the lions of the Art Institute, now currently adorned with Bears memorabilia; sparks shooting off the L tracks over Wabash as the train above the street rumbled by; the saxophone player outside Orchestra Hall playing the Simpsons Theme. She drank in these sights as if she were to never see them again.

"I'm going to miss this," she said quietly to herself, and then nearly jumped, realizing what she had just stated. She had made her way over towards the Buckingham Fountain

at this point, and sat down on a park bench. 'Apparently,' Sarah thought, 'I've already made up my mind. I don't know when, but I think that Jareth's right: I have nothing here. I really don't. There's no point in trying to stay here and make a life for myself, anyway.' She sighed. 'And he's right. I have friends there…and I have nothing here.' She got up, look one last long look at the beautiful fountain that was currently adorned with icicle lights and headed back towards her apartment.

()

Sarah tried to kill time waiting for Jareth by buying all of the food that she had ever liked and eating it while watching TV and cranking her favorite CDs. The neighbors above her had already started pounding on their floor with a broom to try and signal to Sarah to turn down her ruckus, but she merely ignored them; she was having too good of a time in her last hours in her own world to deal with people who didn't appreciate the screaming guitar solos of Jimmy Page and the thumping bass of rap and dance music. In fact, she was having such a good time that she did not notice a white owl hovering outside her window, flapping against the glass pane.

Getting frustrated from watching Sarah gyrate around her living room for nearly an hour, Jareth decided to make his appearance known by transforming into his human form and appearing less than half a foot in front of Sarah, who was currently in the middle of practicing her booty shake to some rap (as she figured she would not be hearing much Ying Yang Twins in the labyrinth's castle). However, his plans went slightly awry as she had turned at the last minute, and he had appeared directly behind her and ended up with her backing her "thang" up directly into his groin. He inwardly groaned in both frustration and pleasure, as this was not his idea of a good start to her departure…but was not exactly disagreeable, either.

Sarah snapped her head around, eyes wide, and saw that Jareth was wearing an equally bewildered expression. She then noticed her position: slightly bent at the waist, her hands on her thighs, her rear end sticking up in the air, and she was positioned directly in Jareth's, well…area. This was beyond awkward for both of them, as both of their deepest, most hidden fantasies had just started to come to fruition, and they both jumped to move apart. However, Sarah's foot had become tangled around Jareth's, and as she leapt forward and he leapt back, she fell and turned over, with him careening over on top of her.

She was now pinned to the ground by Jareth's body, their faces inches apart. Her eyes went wide with shock as she realized her predicament, and wider still when she felt something hard against her stomach. They stared at each other for a minute, the electricity between then undeniable. For one glorious moment, Sarah thought that Jareth was leaning in to kiss her, but alas, he instead seemed to change his mind and move his face slightly away from hers.

After what seemed like an eternity, he suddenly (and awkwardly) got off her and started rambling: "Well…umm…I came here to see what you wanted to do and if you wanted to go with me…I mean come to the labyrinth…or if you wanted to stay here and keep up with your life and you know that I'm not forcing you to do anything and it's your choice…"

Sarah started to tune out his rant, watching his lips move, wondering what had happened to the intense-yet-aloof Jareth that she had known ten years before. He had been so smooth then, cocky even, but now he seemed as if he had been reduced to a bumbling teenager in love. That was something that made Sarah wonder…what had changed in the period of time between their last meeting?

She halted him in the middle of his rant, holding up her hand, stating simply, "Yes."

He looked at her, confused. "Yes what?"

"Yes, I'll go with you back to the labyrinth."

For a moment he looked shocked, then within the blink of an eye, his entire attitude had changed back to what resided in her memories: debonair, with a tinge of evil cunning. He smiled at her, his sexy, bone-chilling smile that made her feel as if she was going to melt, and extended his hand to her. "Excellent – it would have been such a pity to leave you behind." He paused and flashed his trademark smirk. "Come, Sarah", he said. "The labyrinth awaits you."

Before Sarah could even stop and wonder what had caused the sudden change in his manner, she found herself standing in the entrance hall to Jareth's castle, though a bit had changed. The décor was much less drab – in fact, it looked nearly as opulent as Versailles. The walls were still shining like they were before, but they were now made of a translucent silver material that seemed to radiate light, as opposed to the cold stone of before. The floor was made of some sort of jewel akin to a diamond, but diamonds did not shine nearly as much as these. It appeared that they had been pressed into flat tiles, and they seemed to stretch for miles around her. The castle also seemed much emptier, but she couldn't quite put her finger on why. However, Jareth's speaking interrupted her thoughts.

"Welcome to your new home, Sarah."

_A/N: Okay, I fixed this chapter so that hopefully it's not all italicized and underlined. I have no idea how that happened, but I hope it's fixed now. Also, yes, I realize that it's now about four months after I last updated…I'm sorry! School happened, then summer happened, then two really major fics I had an idea for happened (coming soon: a Harry Potter fic!), and this one kinda got left in the dirt. However, I'll try to update this sometimes, because I enjoy it, and I hope you guys do, too!_


	5. How You Turn My World

_A/N: A NEW CHAPTER!_

_The drama continues…_

**How You Turn My World**

"_Welcome to your new home, Sarah."_

Sarah looked up at him in shock, the reality of Jareth's words hitting her like a ton of bricks: she was here, in the labyrinth, the rest of her life. Until the day she died. And then what? Was she stuck here in whatever afterlife she had, too? Or was she immortal now that she was permanently in the realm of the goblins? _Was she going to be there forever?_

Sarah's fear must have showed on her face, because Jareth placed his hand firmly on her arm to guide her forward. "Now, dear Sarah, I will show you to your chambers so that you can get ready for dinner and the following festivities."

"And where will you be?" Sarah questioned, ignoring the emphasis he put on the word "festivities."

"I have some…business…to take care of," he replied cryptically, as he quickened his pace. Sarah could hardly keep up, as she was trying to look at her surroundings as they passed. "Come Sarah, you need to get to your room. You'll have plenty of time to look at the castle." Sarah paled at his words. "How long?" she asked, fearing the response. He glanced at her, smirked, and responded: "A very long time."

After a series of long and confusing hallways, Jareth finally halted in front of a door that was at least twice Sarah's height. "Here are your quarters," he said darkly, and promptly turned around in the direction that they came from. Sarah stared after him for a moment, terrified and fascinated, then turned to her door and opened it. What lay in front of her was absolute and utter splendor beyond any of her wildest dreams.

The floor was made of the same sort of tile in the entryway, but was tinted in a shade of blue. The walls appeared to be made of some sort of lapis that practically radiated the fading light streaming in from the window. Then there was the bed. The bed was at least three times the size of the bed in Sarah's apartment, and covered in midnight blue tapestries embroidered with elaborate designs in silver. She promptly forgot about Jareth's previously enigmatic behavior as she flopped onto the bed, which was the most comfortable thing she had ever had the pleasure of sitting on. 'Man,' she thought, 'maybe staying here for all eternity isn't so bad if I get to sleep on a bed like this.' She wistfully dragged herself out of the bed to further explore her room.

To the left of the main door to the room was another door which led to a bathroom that looked surprisingly modern for the castle of a Goblin king, including running water, a flush toilet, and a shower. Also in there was a marble tub large enough to swim across, and Sarah grinned, looking forward to potential baths in a tub practically the size of an Olympic pool. She went back into the main room and drifted over towards the wardrobe, curious what exactly she was to be wearing now that she was in the Underground.

She looked down at her jeans and hoodie, murmuring to herself, "I doubt this is proper attire for living with a king…", trailing off. To her surprise, a voice behind her responded, "No, it most certainly is not." She whirled around, shocked, and saw a short, plump creature that faintly resembled a human with frazzled gray hair and a scratchy, authoritative voice, who somehow also resembled Hoggle.

"Who – who are you?" Sarah asked, rather incredulous to this intruder.

"Don't matter, I'm just your servant," the woman replied with a wave of her hand while Sarah stared at her. "Gotta get you ready for the feast and the ball tonight, I reckon," she continued, and Sarah broke in.

"Um…what ball?" she asked rather dubiously of the old creature. She replied with a rather bark-like laugh, shaking her head.

"Of course His Highness told you nothing of those plans, he did," she said as she hobbled in the direction of the wardrobe, Sarah in tow. "Didn't expect him to, what with all that's going on right now –"

"What, exactly, is going on right now?" Sarah cut in as they stopped in front of the large room to the right of the entrance, the curiosity of her youth resurfacing with the same burning desire of knowledge she once had.

"Tut tut, you're a curious one, you are," she replied. "His Majesty will tell you when the time's right. Now, more importantly, you gotta look presentable for him, you know." She paused, looking Sarah up and down. "He'll not be telling kingdom secrets to a ragamuffin like you." Affronted, Sarah began to retort, but she was cut off by the waving of the old creature's hand. "Don't argue. You need a lot of work and I'm the one to do it."

Sarah nodded, albeit rather stiffly, knowing that this woman…creature…was right. She fell into an overstuffed chaise near the bathroom with a resounding flump, pondering how everything could be happening so fast when she'd hardly been there for an hour as her apparent servant tossed dresses left and right out of the wardrobe. 'Then again,' she thought, 'this _is _Jareth I'm dealing with. When has anything with him ever been normal or predictable?' She shook her head, realizing that her life had gone from utter shambles to complete chaos in less than twenty-four hours. "It's amazing how my life does that," Sarah muttered to herself as the woman beckoned her over to be fit into both a dinner gown and a ball gown, as the "festivities" that evening required both. Despite her mind's protests, Sarah could feel her stomach fluttering in excitement and nervousness, as she was both thrilled and terrified that she was in that situation. Well, in that situation _again_, more or less, at least. This time around, she was older, worldlier, more prepared…

'Prepared for what?' her mind asked her as her torso got jerked about and squished into a tight corset. '_Him_,' it simply replied to itself. Sarah realized, however, how jaded she had become since the last time she was in Jareth's castle.

_**Flashback**_

_Her living room was intact. Her room was clean and devoid of any bizarre creatures. Toby was in his crib. Her father and stepmother had finally left her to watch Toby while they went out. Sarah was, for the first time since her adventure in the Labyrinth, alone. It was about a year after her escapades and since then, she had been deemed, essentially, certifiably "mentally unstable" and "delusional" after many, many trips to psychologists and social workers. Sarah had realized immediately after she excitedly told her father of her exploit what a mistake it was, as he first thought she was joking and refused to believe her, while Karen looked upon her with disdain. However, he became increasingly concerned with her behavior, thinking that her usual flights of fancy had taken a more sinister turn as she became more and more frustrated with his not believing her. _

_It was not until Karen had suggested that perhaps Sarah was having an "episode" did they decide to take her to every shrink in town and the surrounding area, which of course became no secret in her high school – small towns had that sort of disadvantage of everyone knowing your business. From her freshman to sophomore year, Sarah had gone from being considered one of those quiet, pretty girls who would end up being secretaries or something of the sort to the resident psychopath. People would either never approach her, part for her in the hallways, and openly gawk at her and mutter in stage whispers about the "crazy girl" because they were afraid she was going to inevitably snap, or intentionally provoke her because they figured it would be funny. It seemed as if the entire football team had made it their quest to drive Sarah over the edge for their own amusement, and they did a fantastic job. She became isolated, friendless, and utterly miserable. _

_Her father and Karen, of course, ignored this, thinking that it was just a result of her so-called "episodes", not realizing that it was their ignorance that had destroyed any chance of a normal life Sarah may have had after Jareth. She had been reduced to talking to Hoggle in her bedroom mirror a few times a week, occasionally accompanied by Sir Didymus and Ludo, as her only social contact, hearing about the ways the labyrinth was changing since she had left. It was a miserable half-life, being separated by a thin piece of glass from the only world in which she had ever really belonged, being involved but removed, caring and being able to do nothing. _

_High school was hell for her, though by senior year she had managed to at least slightly blend in with the supposed "weirdos" of her class._

_The angry, bitter part of her blamed Jareth for the mess her life had become; she would lie on her bed for hours allowing herself to be filled with rage towards the Goblin King who had, as he said he did for her, turned her world upside down. If she had never gone to that stupid labyrinth, she would never have been in her situation, she'd think to herself. If he would have just given Toby back when she'd asked, her life would be normal. After a few months of playing both the blame and "if only" games, she tired of it, realizing that it was only her fault that her life was a mess. With this acceptance came a newfound sense of desolation, knowing that it was her fault, and her fault alone, that her life had become the way it was. However, her father and Karen, as she was to find out, were pretty responsible themselves._

Sarah paused in her reverie as the old creature led her towards a powder room in the bathroom, apparently arranging her hair. She plopped down on the very squishy stool and allowed for the woman to begin her work on her hair. In the meantime, Sarah allowed her thoughts to drift back to memories of the past.

_Around the time Sarah turned eighteen, her life once again took a turn for the worse when college decision time came around. She had secretly applied to a few universities that she had desperately wanted to go to, knowing full well that her father expected her to stay at home and go to the local community college. Sarah had no plans to do so, of course; she had plans for the future that did not include a two-year degree. Instead, she planned on going to a prestigious college that would give her a pre-law degree and good chance of getting into law school, as she had decided around junior year that law was the place for her. How she was getting there, however, was quite a different story._

_It was March, and Sarah was, as usual, reading in her room when she heard her father call to her from the kitchen that she had mail. He had just gotten home from work, and Karen was on her way home from work and picking up Toby from school. With a jolt, realizing that it was around the time for college letters, she leapt from her bed and charged down the stairs. She nearly fell over when she saw the University of Chicago envelope – scratch that, University of Chicago _package._ Wordlessly, she grabbed the large envelope from her father's hands and tore it open, pulling out the first page. She read the first three words, then shrieked in absolute shock and delight when she saw "Dear Sarah, Congratulations". She looked at her father, her eyes shining with unshed tears of joy, but her face fell when she saw his expression._

"_What is that, Sarah?" he asked, hardly able to keep a tinge of anger and suspicion out of his voice._

"_It's an…acceptance…letter," she replied, starting to get worried._

"_From where?"_

_Sarah paused. "University of Chicago. But, let me –"_

_He cut her off. "I thought we decided you were going to go to college here, Sarah. Last I checked, Chicago is nowhere near here."_

_Sarah felt her cheeks grow hot as she glared at him in anger. How could he possibly be upset that she got into a prestigious school? What parent, honestly, gets mad__when their child gets accepted into their dream school? Screwing up her courage, Sarah finally decided to tell her father what exactly she thought about his plans for her. "No, dad. _We_didn't decide anything. You did. Did I ever express any interest in wanting to go to school here?" She paused for a second, waiting for a response. None came, so she continued: "No, I didn't. I want to go somewhere so that I could actually get a respectable degree and make something of myself and – and…" she trailed off, trying to find the exact words for her feelings._

"_And what? Get away from here?" he asked, his voice starting to rise._

"_YES!" she exploded. "Yes! I want to get out of here!" _

"_Too bad!" he responded, his voice having risen to a yell as well. "You're staying right here. You can't go off on your own! You're unstable, you need someone to keep watch on you –"_

"_Oh come on," she cut in. "I'm eighteen. You think I can't take care of myself? You think someone needs to watch over me? Hah." She paused again, staring at him as if seeing him for the first time. "It's funny you should say that, because ever since I went so-called crazy, you've tried to stay as far away from me as possible. You just lock me in my room, go to work, come home, and go hide in yours. I make you look bad, I once heard you mentioning to Karen. Your crazy daughter scares you, she embarrasses you. You asshole, what you've done is anything but keep watch on me!" With that, her father slapped her smartly across her face. She stared at him, shocked, and fought down the traitorous tears that sprung to her eyes. She was not about to let him win this. "Hit me all you want. I don't care. I'm still going to University of Chicago, and you can't stop me."_

_His voice shook with anger. "I sure as hell can. I won't pay for it, and you have no money. How do you plan on getting past that? Didn't plan _that _part without me, huh?"_

_With this, she smiled wryly. "For your information, _father_," her voice dripped with venom at this, "I received about seven scholarships from the school and various local organizations, as well as need-based loans for University of Chicago. I told them my parents aren't paying for it, so my schooling's practically paid for by everyone else. As for the loans, I'll get a job at school." She smiled triumphantly at the look of shock on his face. "Guess you were too busy thinking I was off my rocker to notice the scholarship applications." Sarah promptly whirled around, leaving her father behind in the kitchen with his jaw hanging open as she headed up to her room._

_Nearly seven years later, they had not spoken a single word to each other, and Sarah doubted they ever would again._

Sarah sighed, forcing herself out of her reverie. Shocked, she realized that her preparations for the impending dinner and festivities had been completed while she was lost in thought and memory. She looked down at herself, astonished, having not previously noticed that she had indeed been put into a formal dinner gown.

"Holy crap," she muttered in astonishment to herself as she peered down at the dress on her. It was a deep green in a fabric Sarah did not recognize, but may have been akin to silk. It was a-lined, with off-the-shoulder straps that had an elegant curve to them. It felt sleek against her body when she moved, and she found herself twirling in front of the full-length mirror like a little girl, smiling gleefully, feeling like she was once again playing dress up and pretending to be the princess due to marry the Goblin King. She then smiled ruefully, reminding herself that it was not a fairy tale this time.

The woman-creature behind her was positively beaming, apparently pleased with her work. "His Highness will be waiting for you in the entranceway, I believe," she said, ushering Sarah towards the door. "After dinner, you're to come back up here to change into your ball gown."

"But what's that one look like?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, you'll see," she replied, shoving the younger girl through the door and slamming it behind her.

Sarah was on her own, and there was no turning back.

_A/N: So, finally a new chapter! I'm very, very sorry that I have taken this long for an update…like I have the tendency to do, I started another fic (well, really two) that's been a pretty intense undertaking (yeah, that'll get published…eventually…). However, I rediscovered this story, remembered that I really like it, and so I'm gonna keep trying to update! Thank you for all of the wonderful reviews; I'm glad you like this story as much as I do._

_As a warning, I'm moving back to school Saturday, so the updates may become sporadic again because of all the moving and the nonsense. But we shall see! I'll remain cautiously optimistic that more will come._

_Love to you all!_


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